Out of Time
by Nerdatlas5
Summary: The Knight of Time and The Seer of Light are on a quest to hunt down a witch. Of course, everything falls apart after that. A fantasy twist to the usual Homestuck insanity. Sorry about the cliche title. Enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

A man moved quickly through the thickly wooded forest. He had taken the journey a thousand times before, and will do so a thousand times again. Each time though he took a different route. Not that it mattered. He was certain that he would only get to the Seer's home when she wanted him to.

He was the Knight of Time. He had shaggy blonde locks, which almost seemed white from exposure to the sun. He was tall, thin, and well-built; with sharp angled features. He wore a red uniform with a short blood red cape. The only odd thing about him was a pair of dark glasses that hid his eyes. He never took them off.

The woods cleared up ahead, just as they always do. The Knight has never bothered to make a map of the woods. He figured it wouldn't help him know where the Seer lives.

Sure enough, the woods opened into a clearing. In the middle of the clearing was one large old tree. Perched on the tree was a mansion. It was built as a gift from King Scratch for her job as the King's Seer. The Knight thought that the King was being a perv though. Not that he'd say that out loud.

The Knight climbed up the tree and into the home before stopping in his tracks. The entire place was empty. All the furniture: gone. Her entire collection of useless books: vanished. And where was the Seer?

"Seer!" The Knight called out.

"Over here" a cool voice responded from around the corner. The Knight followed until he could see the Seer of Light.

The Seer was a golden haired, purple-eyed girl. She was shorter than the Knight, but had a big personality. She loved knowledge, and could read people like the many books she owned (the ones that were currently missing).

She was currently holding the only thing left in the house, a brightly glowing orb that she uses to get the knowledge that King Scratch asks for.

The Knight and the Seer were under the employ of King Scratch. It was the only way to bypass the law banning all those with some form of magic in their veins. They were the only two known to be left alive. Until now that is.

"Yo, where's your shit?" the Knight asked, leaning on his sword.

"I've packed it away," she answered. "I've learned of a way to use pocket universes to hold any objects. I could teach you if you want. Your going to need it for our next job."

"Our next job? I only go on jobs alone Rose."

"Not this time. I have a feeling that the King will need both of us for this one." Rose's feelings tend to be pretty spot on. "Did King Scratch tell you what our job is?"

The Knight nodded. "Find the magic user. Kill the kid." The Knight knew how wrong it was, but he didn't lose sleep over it. Either this or he died. The decision was easy to make. "Do you know what she can do?"

Rose said no. "Just that she's a witch."

"So why do you need to come with. If it's just a witch, I can take care of it myself."

Rose smiled grimly. "As much as I'd love to continue feeding your masculine fantasies, I have to come along with you. There's going to be something else out there waiting for us to find the witch."

"Why the fuck would they want to do that?"

"I assume to kill us all at once instead of one at a time."

"So why let these douches have their way?"

"Because Dave," Rose sighed. "They're from another universe."

Dave shrugged. "Well shit, I guess we'll need to bring the entire cavalry with us too. Are you done shoving all your shit in a pocket universe or what?"

"Yes. Did the King tell you where to go, or do I have to lead?"

"I don't need directions; I just wander around until I happen to find what I was looking for. Works every time."

Rose sighed and left the overgrown tree house without waiting for Dave. He wasn't sure what the King was thinking when he threw the two of them in the same quest. They can just barely tolerate each other, and Dave can just see the quest failing because they were too busy arguing.

He might just enjoy this one.


	2. Chapter 2

"They're coming," the Witch of Space called out to the air. She appeared to be alone in the cavernous room, and as usual, just slightly crazy.

She had a mystical quality about her, dressed in all black. Though she was a witch, she didn't have the typical pointed hat, but a two-point hood that split down the middle. Her black hair was always moving, but that might have been because of the draft within their cave hideaway. She had a blue and green colored ball in her hand that she was staring at intently; as if the answers were held within it.

"You sure? I can't see them," A voice blew in, seemingly from everywhere.

"They just started on their journey John. You can't expect them to get very far right away," the Witch scolded. Talking to nothing was normal for her. The Heir will join the rest of his voice soon.

Sure enough, a lanky boy flew down from the ceiling. He was dressed in blue with a long pointed hood. His hair, also black, was always a mess from flying everywhere. The Heir of Breath had a youthful qualtiy to him, with as much energy as a tornado, but the gentleness of a cool breeze.

"Are you sure we need to work with them Jade? They are working with the King. And trying to kill us!" John exclaimed.

The Witch sighed. "I've told you before John. There's a bigger threat that we can't defeat without the help of the Seer and the Knight."

"What is this threat though? I've been all over the world and haven't seen any threat besides that of the King."

Jade looked up. The world seemed so big, but here she was, holding it in her palm. And she knew, that there was an infinite other worlds and unvierses, all with their own tyrants and rebels and petty wars.

"You haven't been able to find it because it's not from this world, or even this universe." Jade lifted another ball, this one a dark grey with one black obsideon-like spot. Their was a large mass of lighter grey moving towards that spot.

"There's an army. A other-wordly one. And it's headed here to destroy the human race."


	3. Chapter 3

Dave and Rose wandered for hours, with only brief intermissions of trying to figure out which direction they were to go in. Whenever it seemed like they were getting to their destination, they'd suddenly end up in a random village miles away from their true goal.

He was also fairly certain they had passed the penis-shaped tree three times now.

"Hey, I think there's a clearing up ahead," Rose called out to him. She tripped on a stick as she did. Though robes she wore easily marked her as a Seer of Light, it in no way was sutiable for a quest.

"Better not be another fucking village," Dave groaned.

Frustrated, he cut through the branches only to find...

"The Village of Suburbia," Rose informed him with a smirk.

"Are you trying to piss me off?"

"No, sadly this isn't in my jurisdiction. I'd say the witch is trying to not be found."

Dave wanted to throw his sword down and give up. But that was not very cool, and if there was anything Dave was, it was cool.

"Okay, then how are we going to hunt her down?"

They walked through the Village as they argued. By the well, Dave could see some young girls whispering to each other. He gave a nod and a smile in their direction, which sent them into a fit of giggles.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Focus on the task at hand _Knight_," she said, easily switching to using their class names now that they were in public.

"You're not going to find us like that."

Both looked around bewildered.

"Who said that?" Dave asked.

"I- I don't know," Rose stuttered.

"But you know everything!"

"I know!"

The disembodied voice laughed at them.

"Your not going to find the Witch by bickering," the voice said.

Dave whipped out his sword. "Who are you? State your class and aspect!"

The voice laughed again. "Do you really think you can catch the wind?"

Dave was sick of this shit. Putting his sword away, he raises his hands. Two large gears appeared floating in the palms of his hands. With a flick of his wrist, the gears spun and both he and it disappeared in a flash.

Dave went back. He figured he wouldn't have to go too far. This new magic user knew the witch, so he's probably was waiting for them in the village.

When he stopped, the village was in this picturesque scene, framing the rising sun. Dave made a mental note to send Rose a postcard from the past.

Dave stopped at an alehouse, grabbed a drink, and began to wait. He spoke to the bartender to see if there was anything weird going on here.

"Ah, not that I can tell, though there have been rumors of "other" beings," the boistrous man responded.

"Do you mean people of magic?" Dave asked.

"For once its not those leacherous excuse for human beings. Nah, apparently these things aren't even human. But don't let it get t'ya. Just the mad ravings of a lunatic that lives here."

"Could you show me where he lives?"

"Sure if you want. He lives just down the road next to the post office."

Dave finished up in the abr and left. Just as he was leaving he ran into a tall lanky man walking fast down the main road. He had messy black hair that looked like it was always caught in a tornado.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the man said cheerfully before continuing on his way. But Dave recognized the voice. Waiting a couple of seconds, he began to follow the man. They continued up to a very tall and thick tree at the edge of the woods. It was the same area he and Rose will come from at the end of the day.

So the lanky bastard was waiting for them all along! But how did he know that they'd come here? Probably works for the witch.

Dave watched as the man flew up into the tree. Must be one of those breath aspects. Dave would have liked to just get the loser now, but he knew he couldn't. Paradoxes were quite the bitch to take care of. So he only had one option: sit under the tree and wait.

It was a very long wait. Dave had no one to talk to or annoy. It almost made him miss Rose. Almost.

He had to keep quiet so the Loser of Breath wouldn't notice him, and in that silence all of the problems he has been running away from crept up to him.

He personally hated King Scratch. They guy was a kill joy for magic users everywhere. Dave honestly wouldn't have minded being on the run.

But King Scratch knew this, so he used the only leverage left: Dave's brother.

His brother, known only as Bro to everyone but himself, is the greatest assassin known to man. Even the nobles would hire him when wills needed to be "rewritten". But his skills were still illegal of nature.

King Scratch threatened to start a manhunt for Bro unless Dave worked for him. What could Dave do?

And he can't even tell his Bro this. The man is tough, and would have wanted to take care of himself. And his Bro would only see himn as weak for accepting. No, Dave just had to pretend he had some plan of revenge. At least, until he actually did have a plan.

Before Dave knew it, dusk had descended unto the town. He saw Rose and himself walking down out of the road. His past self noticed his current self. A nod was all it took for the two Dave's for them to be in sync. It didn't matter that his past self didn't yet know why he used his magic. He'd take care of the problem soon.

Dave looked up and saw the Loser of Breath jump across the buildings, following Past Dave and Rose. Dave followed the man keeping just out of sight. He waited for his moment to shine.

"Do you really think you can catch the wind?"the man said once again. Dave's past self disappeared. Taht was when Dave acted.

Drawing his sword, he approached the man, grabbed him and held him at knife-point.

"I believe I just did," Dave answered the man. He shoved the guy down to the ground, where Rose was waiting for them.

"How long have you been here?" she asked.

"All day."

Rose nodded. Just another trick up Dave's sleeve to her. She then addressed the man.

"Again: your name, class and aspect. let's make this quick here."

The man sighed. "I should've known better. She said not to underestimate you guys," he muttered.

"Who said that? The Witch? Dave asked.

The man nodded. "If you let me go I'll explain everything," he begged.

Dave looked to Rose. Should they trust him?

Rose shrugged. "Get up," she ordered before haughtily striding to the ale house. John looked to Dave for an explaination.

"She's not happy that you threw her off with the whole 'disembodied voice' thing."

The man shrugged. "My name's John by the way," he said jovially, sticking his hand out to Dave.

Dave reluctantly sheathed his sword and accepted the handshake. He already knew that John would get on his nerves, perhaps more so than than Rose.

Not sure how to respond to John's attitude, Dave simply said, "Let's head inside." As the two men headed for the ale house, Dave said a silent prayer to the God he wasn't even sure he believed in and prepared for a very long night.


	4. Chapter 4

"So John, what did you say your class was?" Rose asked in a very business -like tone. Dave, John and Rose were seated at the table. John and Dave both were having a pint, but Dave knew that Rose never drank. Wasn't sure why though.

"Heir of Breath," John asnwered. he looked at Dave and Rose with the stupidest grin Dave had ever seen. He was sick of it.

"Why are you happy?" Dave asked. "We caught you. You're probably going to die by King Scratch's hand once we're through with you."

John looked sheepish, like he didn't know he was smiling. "Sorry, it's just that I haven't met any other magic users other than Jade."

"Is Jade the Witch you work for?" Rose asked.

John nodded. "Except I don't work for her. We're just friends."

Dave leaned backed on his chair. "So were you just sent to throw us off? Trying to buy your friend some time?"

John shook his head. "No, she wanted to invite you two personally to her home."

That got Dave sitting up.

"But... we've been sent to kill her," Rose said.

"So why were you messing with us?" Dave asked.

John shrugged. "I thought it was funny at the time. I don't mean to brag, about I'm an A+ prankster," he said with a grin.

Dave was ready to kill him then and there.

Then John looked to his left, and looked to his right before leaning into the table. Dave and Rose did the same.

"You know the rumors about those monsters that have been wandering the town?"

Dave nodded, as did Rose (being Seer of Light and all).

"Well... they're real. And if we," John gestured to Himself and Dave and Rose. "If we don't get rid of them... they'll destroy everything!" John made an exploding motion with his hands, and supplied a sound effect as well.

Dave certain now he was the crazy guy the bartender was talking about.

"And how can we know your telling the truth?" Rose asked politely.

"We can talk to the guy who saw one of them," John answered matter-of-factly.

Rose gave Dave a look. They both were wary of John and his naive mannerisms. But Dave had heard about these monsters before meeting John, he figured they'd check it out after capturing and killing the witch, but hey, Dave was in no hurry to get that done.

"Let's go talk to the nutcase then," Dave said casually. He pulled some cash from his pocket and put it on the table before getting up to leave. John followed, and Rose, sighing in disdain followed the men.


	5. Chapter 5

**It's your lucky day, you get not one, not two, but THREE new chapters. This is because I feel guilty for not updating sooner. I've just been incredibly busy. I might not update again for a while also because I move in and start college tomorrow o_O. Yikes. So yeah. Some general notes: I won't be using the Ancestors or Dancestors, aside from her Imperial Condescension. It just makes it easier for me since in the future the story will be told in multiple perspectives. I'm also not using the troll's typing quirks. You should be able to tell who I'm talking about before I actually introduce them. Like now.**

Two people sat in the bushes, watching as an odd group of three entered a well-lit house in the middle of the night.

"This is not befitting of our plan." The very muscular one said. His muscles were so distracting a person could almost miss the fact that his skin was grey and there were orange horns sprouting from his head. The horns formed and arrow at the top, with one being broken. He wore very dark rectangular shades that were shatter. His overall appearance was in a word, frightening.

"Do not worry. We will simply kill him whenefur they leave," His shorter companion responded. She was perched in a tree quite elegantly. She, like her partner, had grey skin and horns, but her horns were pointed like an animal's ears. Though she appears absolutely adorable, there is something unsettling about her fondness of killing.

"The low-blooded has already spread word of us too much. If word were to go back through the ranks that we failed our mission..."

"Relax. If there becomes too much talk, we can simply pounce on the others as they leave and then kill the witness."

The muscular one began sweating both over the consequences of failing and... other reasons.

"If you say so. After all, if I cannot trust my own morail then who can I trust?"

"Exactly!" his feline morail said with a grin.

The two settled down and waited for the hunt to begin.


	6. Chapter 6

Dave, Rose, and John stopped in front of the crazy man's house. Though they had the intention of talking to him, none wanted to be the one to knock.

Dave took the awkward silence to examine his surroundings. The house was dilapidated and broken down. Part of the roof had collapsed, and one wall was termite infested. The house was on the outskirts of the village, almost tucked into the edge of the forest, as if society had agreed to sweep the proverbial mess under the rug.

As Dave thought this, John knocked on the door. It stuck a little before creaking open, having not seen a visitor in years. A balding, wrinkled head popped out.

"Whaddya want? I don' take kindly to no solicitors," he slurred.

John stuttered, suddenly at a loss for words. Dave was ready to turn around and give up when Rose spoke.

"Sir, we are the King's special forces. We had heard you had seen monsters around here, and we have come for yours and the village's safety."

Everyone stood silently. How would the man react?

Slowly a smile grew on the man's face.

"Fiiiiiii-nah-lee someone's got the sense beat back inta dem! Come in! Come in!" He waved them through.

"Quick if we're fast enough we can get out before anyone notices," Dave whispers to Rose. Rose shushed him.

The old man led them to a little kitchen.

"Have a seat! Can I getcha anythin to drink? I gots some tea on da kettle."

John was the only one who accepted his offer.

"Sir, we're wondering if you could explain to us exactly what you saw," Rose inquired.

The man started rambling about monsters then, shouting and waving his hands back and forth for emphasis.

"Dude, just tell us what the 'monsters' looked like and what they were doing!" Dave interrupted. He pressed a hand to his forehead.

"Imma gettin ta that!" the man gave John a tin can of tea and sat down at the table. He looked one way, then another. Then he lowered his voice and told his story.

"Da first time I saw dem things was a when I was picking mah veggies when I heard da noise behind meh in da forest. I looked around, but der was nuttin there.

It kept hapnin over da week. I told mah buddies at da pub but dey all think Imma too drunk, dat Iva bin seeing thins.

Well on Sunday I finally did saw somethin. I turned around real snappy like, and caughta glimpse of ah… dez real pale creatures, with bright big horns." The old man placed his hands on his head miming the horns.

"We stared at each other for ah moment, maybeh two. Anden they was gone." The man leaned back in his chair. "Ah've bin tryin tah get de towns peoples tah believe me, but no one does. Imma at mah wits end."

John sat still, enraptured. Dave and Rose shared a look.

Rose stood up. "Do you, um, think we can take a look outside?" she asked.

The man nodded excitedly. Dave and Rose stood up and walked out, not waiting for John to bounce up and follow them out.

"Did you get anything out of that nonsense?" Dave asked Rose.

Rose shook her head. "I don't know why, but even as he's telling his story, I get nothing. I don't know if he's lying, telling the truth, or any info on these 'monsters,'" Rose said, frustrated.

"My friend has a theory on that. We can ask her when we visit her," John said.

Dave was done with the annoying blue turd. He turned around to make a smart-ass comment about how John probably doesn't have any friends.

He didn't get a chance. The words died in his mouth as he watched the old man bleed out in his front door, three sharp metal prongs poking through.


	7. Chapter 7

Dave cursed aloud, getting the attention of Rose and John. As they spin around to see what happened, a short cat-looking thing leapt at Rose. Dave whipped out his sword and got in the way, parrying the thing's blow. He heard a metal-on-metal screech. The short monster had long, sharp metal claws. So this is what killed the old man.

"Head into the woods!" Rose shouted as she left his side.

John ran after her into the dark refuge as a larger grey beast followed. 'What the fuck are these things?' Dave wondered.

He turned his focus to the cat-thing trying to kill him. It was also grey-skinned, but had orange horns that looked like cat ears. Did the other one have similar horns? Dave didn't remember.

"So… mind explaining the blood shed behind us?" Dave asked the creature as he blocked ensuing blows.

"He got a bit too chatty," the creature purred. "Plus I haven't had anything to eat in forever!"

It was oddly cheerful.

Dave fought well, but even he realized when he was at a disadvantage. If he didn't get away he would be dead in minutes. Plus he didn't think either John or Rose could take on the monster. He would probably need to get them out of danger as well.

"Well, I would _love _to stay, chat, get slaughtered, but… I need to go. Bye!" Dave said. He brought out his gears. The creature's eyes grew wide as it pounced at Dave-

But it was too late. Dave was gone.

He decided to go back in time again, this way he could meet up with the others and sneak attack the other monster.

Dave was uneasy though. So the man was right and there were monsters in the village. But why? And the look on the one's face, it was like the monster knew his power.

Whatever it was, the answer was only an hour away.

Dave looked at the hut again. Should he warn the old man? No, the geezer hasn't even met him yet. And you don't change the past. Dave learned the consequences the hard way when he first found out he was different.

Dave walked into the forest before the old man walked out and spotted him. He walked for a couple of minutes, climbed up a tree, and waited for the others to come running through.

Sure enough an hour later Dave could hear someone running through the undergrowth. Rose came through first. She had her magic wands out and was firing behind her. John zoomed through behind her on a rotating puff of air. When they passed the other monster came through. Dave was right: it had horns to, but one had snapped off.

Dave was ready to drop down and whoop the guy's ass, when he heard a shout.

"Equius!"

The voice was faint, but it was clearly the short monster. The other one must be attached to it somehow because it immediately doubled back and ran like its life depended on it.

Dave shrugged and jumped down.

"Hey, the other one left for the cat, we're good," Dave shouting towards his still running companions.

John rushed back on his stupid cloud and took Dave's hand and started pulling him along, despite Dave's obvious attempt to get away.

"But we have to get going!"

"Why? And let go of me!"

John surprisingly listens for once, but is still running.

"I don't know for sure what's going on, but those bad guys are exactly what my friend was warning us about! We have to go see her!"

Dave groaned and reluctantly followed. This quest just got way more complicated than he signed up for.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys. Sorry for the lack of update recently. I just finished the semester so I plan on updating a bit more often than I have been. **

**I also want to suggest you check out another fanfic. It's simply called Demonstuck by Oleander Grimm. The story is pretty good, though she updates about as often as I do.**

**Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a review if you have the time.**

**Update: I was made aware that the cancer sign I copied and pasted in couldn't be seen on the site. I rewrote it so there would be no confusion.**

The Witch was floating in space, eyes closed. In the meditative state she was in, Jade could go anywhere she wanted.

There was one person that she needed to find.

Opening her eyes, she gazed at the earth. It was cupped in her hands, no bigger than an orange. It rotated calmly, as if the inhabits were unaware their fate was literally held in the hands of an oddly dressed girl.

Jade took one hand, and gently spun the earth. It spun, and as so it grew. It grew until she couldn't hold it in her hand, and then grew some more.

Jade entered the atmosphere. The further down she went, the slower the earth appeared to go until she landed lightly on the ground. The earth stopped spinning.

She landed on the outskirts of an army encampment. They had taken refuge in a village that was devoid of life. It was dull, and muffled moans were calling out across the large group. She wanted to help those that were suffering, but that wasn't why she was here.

Jade walked through looking for a specific home. Upon closer examination she noticed that each tent had a symbol marked upon it.

She found the house she was looking for. On the door a large zodiac sign was carved sloppily in it. It was the sign of cancer. Jade pushed the door open and closed it quietly behind her. She turned to face the person she was looking for.

Well, Jade admitted to herself that he wasn't exactly a person per say. The being that she was looking for was short, grey skinned, and had stubby orange horns. He was asleep on the bed with a similar being curled up next to him.

Jade walked over to the bed to get a closer look at what she knew was the foreign enemy that she had seen approaching. Their leader was more cunning than she thought. Jade had figured that they had a month to prepare for the alien arrival, but it appeared that they were already here.

So if this alien was so dangerous to her, why has her dreams been telling her that without this runt the universe will be destroyed?

She stood over the bed pondering this. Suddenly the alien's eyes snapped open. He looked at Jade in shock and quick grabbed at her.

Jade jumped, startled by the sudden attack. Her form dissipated into nothingness.

Jade woke with a start in her bed. She was dripping in sweat, which was uncommon for her premonitory dreams.

How was he able to see her dream form? Jade had a theory, but if she was right, then the short alien wasn't the only one she needed to keep an eye on. And not all of them will be as helpful as this one supposedly will be.

Jade sighed. She'd have to think about this later. John will be bringing the others here soon, and then she can finally put together the plan she's been mulling over since the first dream about the invaders.

She looked around at the overgrown island she loved in. Vines and bugs were everywhere. Jade huffed and got up. She'd have to do some cleaning up if she wanted to properly welcoming the incoming guests.


	9. Chapter 9

Dave and his companions walked for another week. It was mostly silent, but only because Dave had threatened to stick his sword up John's butt if he spoke another word.

Don't get him wrong. Dave was used to long-winded travelling. It was a constant for his job. But all of his quests until today had been alone. And this wasn't even his job. By now he was certain that they had no intention of killing the witch. Not with the threat of the end of world looming over them.

The group walked until they reached the shoreline. A dead end.

Dave had had enough.

He pulled out his sword and pointed it at John's throat.

"This had better not be a stupid trap of yours," Dave shouted.

John tried to back away but Dave followed, making sure that he'd be able to stop any sudden moves.

"It's not! I swear! Jade's place is on an island," John said.

Dave was about to see if he could get any more information about the witch from John, but Rose intervened.

She pushed Dave's sword out of the way with ease, and gave him a stern look before he could retaliate.

"John, does this mean you have a boat here that we can use?"

John shook his head. "Nope."

"What do you mean no?" Dave asked angrily. "Not all of us can fly like you. How are we going to get to a freaking deserted island without a boat?"

"Relax Dave, your too tense," John told him. "'The witch' will just use her magic to bring us there," he answered with a foolish grin.

Rose rolled her eyes, but continued talking. "So does your friend know we're here then?"

"Probably."

"What do we do then?" Rose asked.

"We wait," John said simply. He sat down on the sand and gestured to either side of him for Rose and Dave to sit.

Rose complied, but Dave refused to sit down.

"Come on Dave," John said. "What, can the Knight of Time not wait for a few minutes?" John teased. John turned to chat with Rose while he waited.

Dave wouldn't respond to John's stupidity. He refused to give in to John's pathetic attempts at friendship, he would…

Sit down.

John was talking about his life before finding out he was the Heir of Breath.

"I lived with my dad for most of my life. Mom died when I was little, but dad did his best raising me. He was the town baker. You would never be able to find a better loaf of bread within our country."

"So you're not from here?" Rose asked.

"Not originally," John answered. "But King Scratch sent his army into my home country when I was 13. That was also when I found out I was the Heir of Breath."

"What happened?" Dave asked. It was the first time he spoke since he threatened John.

"It was a bloodshed. I saw my friends and neighbors slaughtered in front of my eyes. I was trying to fight some soldiers off when my powers kicked in. Then my dad made me leave without him. He knew that I'd be hunted down after beating up those soldiers. I flew and flew to the ocean and out past it until I was too tired to continue. And I landed on Jade's island. Still don't know what happened to my dad and the rest of the village." John shrugged. "But I'm hoping this plan to save the world will convince the King that we won't hurt him. Then maybe I can go back to find my dad."

Dave and Rose were silent. They both knew King Scratch well. He hadn't sent them to kill the witch because he was afraid of her, or John.

"What are you doing telling your life story to a bunch of strangers John?" A voice spoke behind them. The group turned around. John lit up.

"Jade! Don't worry, they're nice people. Even Dave."

Dave glared at John. So this was the witch they were looking for. She looked a bit like John, with long black hair. But she had bright lime green eyes and a long black robe with a hood. Despite the all black outfit, she seemed happy and outgoing. Dave wondered if she'd be just as annoying as John.

Jade gave Rose and Dave each a once over before she spoke.

"…Alright. It's not like I can be picky. We need as much help as possible if the world has any chance of being saved," Jade said.

Dave sighed. This was taking way too long.

"So you're here. Great. Now can someone please explain how we're getting to the fucking island?" He asked.

Jade walked out to the edge of the shore, unperturbed by Dave's sass. "Oh that's easy," she said. "I'll just bring the island to us."

She held out her hand and tugged at the air like she was pulling a rope. As she continued this, Dave began to feel the ground shake beneath his feet. Was she starting an earthquake?

Sure enough in the distance a small bluish green mound of land was slowly growing. It was getting closer.

"How are you doing that?" Dave asked, unable to hide his shock.

"I'm changing the earth so to speak. Moving land closer. Once we're on the island I can put it back."

And there it was. A large jungle of an island. Dave could hear all sorts of animals calling out from it.

"What are you waiting for Dave?"

Dave looked out. Everyone else was on the island's shore. Rose had called out to him.

Dave sighed and splashed through the shallow water to the other side.

"Do you think the witch knows how to get rid of the horned monsters?" Dave asked Rose.

"I think she knows more than we do. And we might want to reconsider the job we were sent to do," Rose answered. "I hardly think that this is the best Jade can do."


	10. Chapter 10

**Been trying to avoid some homework. I forgot how hard English was.**

**Can I say something? It seems cheesy to say this, but you guys reading this and reviewing it means so much to me. It is such a confidence booster at a time when, right now, I'm a little unsure of myself. So thanks. As a thank you, here's a really long chapter. **

**Up until now I've been trying to write to the point where we actually get to meet the trolls. I had a flash of inspiration months ago of how each troll would fit into this alien invasion and I was too impatient to right everything before that moment first, so I had went ahead and started writing in Karkat's perspective, and it's just been waiting in my USB drive to be uploaded since then. I think that'll happen really soon, at least after I edit it to fit the current plot.**

**So thanks for sticking around with me and I hope you enjoy this new chapter.**

Jade led everyone off the beach and into the thick jungle on the island. Dave looked behind and sure enough he could see the mainland slowly recede from view. No way out.

"So, Witch," Dave began saying.

"You can call me Jade," she interrupted.

"Right. Jade. You know about the horned beasts?" Dave asked.

Jade nodded. "Yes. They've been coming for a while now."

"From where?" Rose asked. She walked right up alongside Jade with a spark in her eyes. Dave groaned internally. She just had to know everything.

Jade pointed up into the sky. "Space. I can see everything that goes on in the universe. And not just our universe. These aliens have been on their way for centuries. Pretty soon they'll be right on top of us," she explained.

"What happens then," Dave wondered.

"We die."

Rose and Dave turned to face John. He looked no less worried than before, despite stating their doom very clearly.

"That's why we need to work together. We're they only people left in the world with magic in our blood. We're earth's last stand," John stated plainly.

Jade nodded. "That's why I'm letting you guys on the island. So we can plan and save the world!"

As they spoke Dave noticed the landscape changing in… odd ways. As they ventured further into the forest he began to notice scraps of metal and little gizmos littered on the jungle floor. Little gizmos eventually became big gizmos, and big gizmos became giant machines. Some were even built around the trees, as if they themselves were a part of the environment.

"What's with all of the…?" Dave left the sentence hanging. He approached a machine and hovered over a red button on it.

SLAP!

"Ow! The fuck was that for?" Dave shouted. Jade had given him a large smack on the head, dispelling any notions of messing with the machine.

"Don't touch." She ordered. "These are grandfather's inventions."

"You grandfather was an inventor?" Rose asked.

Jade nodded. "Yup. He made his home on the island when I was a baby, so he could build without being declared a witch himself. Maybe he already knew I was special and wanted to protect me. I dunno, he died when I was little, before I grew into my powers. I don't even know what all of his inventions do. Which is why we don't touch them without permission." She glared at Dave as she said that last sentence. Dave shrugged.

"How did he get all of the components for the inventions though?" Rose asked. "He wouldn't have been able to leave the island if you hadn't discovered your powers when he was alive."

"Yeah, and I don't think this metal shit grows on trees here," Dave joked.

Jade smiled. "Your right. He had a solution for that though. Follow me," Jade ran off into the forest, not waiting for a response. Dave groaned.

The others ran after her (except John, the flying show-off).

Jade had stopped in from of a large thick pad. It was green, blending in so well with its surroundings that Dave didn't know what they were looking at. A bundle of wires led from the pad to a king-sized monitor behind it. It was attached to a console that only had two buttons, and the symbols on them were unrecognizable to him. The paint of the symbols were also wearing out in the middle, particularly on the left.

Rose looked astonished. "Your grandfather made this? He's a legend1" she exclaimed.

"You know what it is?" Jade asked, surprised.

Rose nodded. "I've never seen one before though. My fellow colleagues had believed that it existed only in myth.

"She means her dead cat that she refuses to bury," Dave whispered loudly to John. Rose didn't even flinch at the comment.

"So… what is it?" John asked sheepishly. Dave had a feeling that John has asked this multiple times before.

"A transmaterializer," Jade answered. "It can send and take things from any place in the world." Jade walked over to the console. "The left button receives, and the right button sends," she explains.

"It can also take things from any point in time," Rose added.

"Wait really?" Jade asked.

"Or so I've heard," Rose responded.

Jade huffed. "Well grandpa never told me _that_."

Dave rolled his eyes. "Why would you need that when you've got the Knight of Time right here?" Dave asked arrogantly.

"Because unlike you the transmaterializer is actually _reliable_," Rose answered back.

Dave stumbled back pretending to have been stabbed by Rose's words.

John laughed at their exchange, then froze.

"Oh yeah, Jade, we ran into those aliens already."

"What?"

Dave agreed. "Yeah, a tall and short one. Nasty fuckers, even for me."

"No, no, no. That can't be right," Jade muttered, walking back through the woods again. She walked into a metal structure. The others followed her to where she stopped, in front of a table cluttered with papers.

"This used to be a dining room," John explained to no one in particular.

Jade scanned each paper individually, still muttering to herself. Finally, she spoke to the rest of the group.

"The aliens aren't supposed to be here for months, I've been tracking their movements for years now and their pace hasn't changed since," she said. "Are you sure you saw them?"

"Are they grey-skinned, horned, blood-thirsty?" Dave asked.

"Shit," Jade swore. She stopped and thought. Dave looked at Rose. Had they really trusted a ditzy witch with the fate of the world?

Jade turned to Dave. "You said that you were the Knight of Time, right?"

Dave jumped. "Uh, yeah."

"Can you come with me to see something?"

Dave cautiously walked into a separate room with her. It was just a cluttered as the last.

"I have a theory about what might have gone wrong. I sincerely hope I'm wrong though. But I need to take you into space with me for a moment," she explained nervously.

"But won't I suffocate or something?" Dave asked.

"That's the least of our worries Dave!"

Dave sighed. "Fine."

Jade began fiddling with her fingers. But what originally looked like fiddling to Dave was actually her magic at work.

The room around them popped like a bubble, and in its place was the dark expanse of space.

"Holy shit…"

"I know right?"

Dave didn't let much break his cool and collected exterior, but space had to be an exception.

"Look to our left," Jade said.

Dave did, hoping to maybe see a cool as fuck asteroid or another planet.

Reality bit him in the ass instead.

A million of tiny missle-like spaceships appeared to float, piercing the tranquility of space. They were all led by one massive ornate ship.

This was the threat Jade had spoken of was much bigger than Dave had thought.

"How many are there?" he asked.

"Each ship has a couple thousand soldiers each. The largest one holds their Queen. She'll be the most powerful, and I'd rather we stop them before she reaches Earth."

"Feeling's mutual," Dave agreed.

The image popped out view and in its place one solitary ship remained in place of the Queen's. It was minuscule in comparison.

"What happened?" Dave asked.

"This is a scouting ship a couple of light years ahead of the rest. They'll be the first to reach Earth," Jade explained. "Now tell me Dave: when did this moment in time occur?"

Dave was confused. "Uh… now?"

"Just humor me and do your knight-y thing!" Jade snapped.

Dave put up his hands. "Alright, but I'll have you know I don't do stand-up comedy," he joked.

Looking out at the lone ship, he reached out at the branch of time it resided in. Taking a look, he finally understood why Jade was worried.

"This happened eight months ago."

Jade swore again. "I knew it! The Queen must have known I was watching them! I was only seeing what they wanted me to see. That first ship must've already landed by now!"

"So who's to say the rest of that army isn't already on Earth?" Dave asked.

"Don't be silly. It's like John said, we'd be dead." Jade ran her fingers through her hair. "But with a couple thousand aliens let loose on the Earth I'm sure they've already began attacking certain low-population areas; to get a feel for the defenses we have up and weaken us."

Dave shook his head. "King Scratch would have done something by now."

"Is he really that kind?"

"No, he just doesn't like when people touch his stuff, let alone slaughter it."

Jade shrieked in frustration. "We have no time arguing about this!"

They quckly popped back to the island. Dave's head began to spin.

"What happened?" John asked when they got back.

"They tricked me," Jade answered. "There's already a small army on Earth now. We've still got time before the rest arrive, they were couple of light-years away, but we need to take care of the problem now!"

Dave noticed she was more talking to herself now. She began throwing things around, looking for various gadgets. She was a mess.

"He John, how long have you known Jade?" Dave asked.

"About a year. Why?"

That is a long time to only have oneself to talk to.

Dave walked up to Jade and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Relax." He turned to Rose. "Go back to Scratch and warn him about the aliens. They're supposedly attacking low-populated areas, so that'd be in the east."

"Jade, take John into space so he can distract the Queen in her big ass ship. You can look for a way to stop her from reaching earth at the same time."

John beamed. "Sounds like a plan!"

"B-b-but the queen is probably horrifyingly powerful! I don't think John can take her on," Jade protested.

"He doesn't have to fight her. Just piss her off." He focused his attention on John. "John don't pull anything too stupid, you hear?"

"And just what'll you do?" Jade asked incredulously.

"Can you find where the scouts are attacking right now? Like exact coordinates?" Dave asked.

Jade slowly nodded. "Yes." She paused. "You're right about it being East. Now what's your plan?"

Dave walked out. "Once I'm gone you take John into space, got it?" he told Jade.

Jade followed him out. Confused, she kept asking him questions, but he refused to answer until he reached his destination.

"Why are we at the transmaterializer?" Jade asked.

"Because, witch, you are going to transmaterialize into the army."

"That's crazy. I don't even know if it can work on people. It might kill you."

Dave shrugged. Since this was all an improvised plan he didn't quite think that far ahead. He pushed Jade towards the console.

"The odds of me surviving if we don't take care of this now are also slim."

Jade was still reluctant.

Dave sighed and paced around on the green pad. He really didn't want to get sappy. "Look. You've done a lot on your own. Even with this fuck-up the Queen has thrown at us you still managed to give us a chance of surviving," Dave said. "But you are no longer the only one fighting for Earth. John, Rose and I are a part of this now too, just like you predicted. Four fuck-ups are definitely better than one, right? So let us help."

"…Thanks."

Before Dave could respond he was blinded by a flash of light. The warm jungle dissipated around him, and was replaced by something else warm.

Fire.


	11. Chapter 11

**Congratulations! If you have read up to this point and put up with my BS, firstly, thank you for being patient, and secondly, you may have noticed some trolls running around. Now that we know that the trolls are here, I get to tie in this chapter that I wrote almost a year ago!**

**Some things to not before the chapter starts. First, I'll mostly be writing in Karkat's perspective. Second, not all the trolls are together or know each other, but they will all meet eventually. Hope you guys enjoy this new addition to the story! And don't forget to leave a review about your thoughts, it's greatly appreciated.**

Karkat ran through the trees, cutting down branches that were in his way. The rest of his squad followed him, not because he was a great leader, but they were hoping he'd die first.

They only hated him because he refused to show anyone his blood color. He was thrown into the squad of blue bloods at random. He didn't belong.

Like all trolls, Karkat was a humanoid-looking thing with grey skin and troll-black hair. He had a pair of nubby orange horns and rows of sharp fangs. Unlike most trolls he was short for his age, and was constantly given grief about it.

He climbed up a tree to see of the dense forest. It's been getting in his way all fucking day and he was sick of it.

And then he sees it.

"Captain! There's a human village a hundred yards ahead!" Karkat shouted.

The Captain sneered below Karkat.

"Good. I've been feeling peckish lately," he said. He ordered the squad forward. "Seems like you finally did something right for once." He told Karkat

Karkat struggled to hold in his anger. He waited in the tree until all the other soldiers passed by before coming down and following. When he had reached the village the bloodshed had already started. It was easy to slip into the fight.

Karkat sliced down every human in his way; his pair of sickles were a flash of speeding metal.

He saw something move behind him. Karkat spun around and raised a sickle high to deal a fatal blow to whoever it was…

It was a human wriggler. She was crying over her dead lusus' body. Did he kill it? Karkat didn't know.

The wriggler noticed him now and cowered in fear. It would be simpliest thing to just cut her down right here, right now.

Karkat raised his sickle higher. He was going to do it. He was…

not. He lowered his sickle.

"Leave."

The wriggler looked up, confused.

"I said leave."

Still no response.

"Do you want me to kill you? Leave before we both end up dead you stupid wriggler!"

That sent the girl running. She ran to the woods while Karkat stood silently by her lusus' body. What was he thinking?

"Why'd you let the wriggler go?" someone asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Karkat responded.

"You didn't kill the wriggler. You didn't even take her hostage."

Karkat shook his head. "You didn't see anything."

The troll hit him it the head. "No shit!"

Terezi was the only person in his squad that Karkat could tolerate. She had been blinded in an accident before the war, and would have been killed as a liability except that her keen sense of smell made her more useful than when she could see.

They both remained silent for a while.

"You let the enemy go." Terezi stated.

"I know."

"You could have killed it. But you didn't."

"I know."

"If the Captain finds out he'll kill you."

"Fuck it Terezi I know!" Karkat shouted.

"So why did you do it?"

Karkat tried to find the right words, the one idea that could convey his feelings before he let the wriggler go. There was none.

"I don't know."

Terezi sighed. "Let's move to a different area. The less attention we put on you the better—Karkat behind you!"

Karkat looked around in time to see a human swing a rake towards his face. Suddenly the human had a sword sticking out of his chest and was falling to the ground. The sword had a carved dragon at the end. It was Terezi's.

Terezi went over and took the sword out of the human. Together with a second sword they made up a cane, Terezi's weapon of choice. Karkat did not want to get on the wrong end of those blades.

"Karkat, let's go."

Karkat numbly followed. He didn't have the energy to continue on. He lost his will to follow orders, to kill on command. Thankfully Terezi stuck by him for the rest of the raid.

When the village had been wiped clean of life the sun had begun to rise. Since trolls burn too easily in the sun they were forced to take up residence in the human's hives for the day. Everyone marked their human hives with their designated ID so their commanding officers could find them easily. Karkat had a hive to himself. He needed it; he'd probably give himself away if he had to share with anyone.

Why had he saved the wriggler? It was so out of character for him. Karkat rubbed his eyes. He was about to lose sleep over this.

He heard the door knock. Who in their right mind would be out in broad daylight?

The troll knocked on the door again.

Karkat cautiously opened the door. It was Terezi.

"Do you know how rude it is to leave a blue blood waiting?" Terezi grinned.

"What do you want now?" Karkat asked. He wasn't in the mood for her jokes.

"To talk." She sat down on the human version of a Recuperacoon. It seemed to have little purpose for the humans; it doesn't even have any Sopor slime, yet another reason why he won't be getting any sleep today.

"What about?"

"…" Terezi looked around, as if afraid of who might be listening.

"Terezi. What's wrong?"

Terezi looked down at her feet. Whatever it was seriously bothered her.

"… I think I might be a seer."

Shit.

Karkat sat down next to her. "You had better be damn sure about what you're saying Terezi," Karkat said. "How do you know?"

"…"

"Terezi. Stop stalling and fucking tell me how you know!"

"Just little things. I know what the other soldiers will do. I know about the Captain's plan for conquering the humans and I know that it'll fail."

"Like how?"

Terezi shifted uncomfortably.

"It's… foggy… but I just have this image… of flames. It was right when the Captain announced we would be staying here. And that's just one example," she explains.

"You do realize what this means right?"

Terezi nods. They both know that having superior abilities is cause for her Imperial Condescension to kill you. Karkat thought it was to prevent anyone from challenging her reign.

"Why are you telling me?" Karkat asked.

"Because I trust you. Plus we both have things to hide now. We have to trust each other."

"What? You mean the wriggler thing? I have more important things to worry about than a fucking wriggler!"

"True. Like your candy red blood." She grinned mischievously.

"How the fuck do you know that… oh. Seer. Fuck."

"Nah. I can just smell it. You smell very nice Karkat."

He wasn't sure whether to be creeped out or flattered. Why does she have to be so fucking annoying?

They both didn't speak for a couple of minutes.

"You probably won't be able to get back to your hive before sunrise," Karkat said, changing the subject. "It… would be alright if…"

"If what? I stayed here for the night?" Terezi grinned as she said it.

"Don't get any ideas! Would you rather burn out there?"

Terezi shook her head.

Karkat was about to let her have the Recuperacoon and simply sleep on the floor, but Terezi was having none of it. Karkat awkwardly squeezed in to make room for his fellow soldier.

They were both silent.

"Listen, Terezi… we can talk more about… your 'ability' when the war's over. Then… then there won't be so much to worry about, and so many trolls around to overhear." Karkat stumbled over his words. "I mean… if we ever see each other after the war. I know fuchsia bloods are pretty strict on who you socialize with but…" Karkat looked over. Terezi was curled up asleep.

He frowned, both relieved and disappointed.

He yawned. Terezi had managed to lie on top of his one arm, solidly pinning it to the ground. Karkat drifted into sleep cursing himself for not sleeping on the floor.

He slept dreamless. Until something told him to wake up. He wasn't sure what it was. His subconscious? It was a small nagging in the void of sleep that told him someone was there.

It didn't disappoint.

Hovering above the bed was a black-haired human girl. She was dressed in an orange night gown and wore thick glasses. She looked down calmly, but off-focused. She was obviously lost in thought.

Karkat thought all the humans here were killed. And they certainly never dressed like that. He leapt awake and with his one free hand he reached out for the human girl.

But she disappeared.

Shit. He had to deal with another 'special' being on top of Terezi.

In trying to catch the human, he had woken Terezi up.

"Karkat what do you think you're doing?" She rubbed her eyes.

"Uhhh…" he wasn't sure how to explain the disappearing human. Thankfully he didn't need to.

They both sat up at the sound of splintering wood outside. Karkat, careful to not open the door completely and let the sunlight in, peeked outside.

The village was set in flame. Trolls were running out, only to get shot by humans in large metal armor riding large, 4-legged hoofed beasts. Either that or they burned.

Karkat wasn't sure if Terezi could smell exactly what was going on, but he could tell that she recognized the fire. She was the one to predict it after all.

Karkat tensed up. "We need to get out of here now!"


End file.
